


Amici

by JakeDov



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Boys Kissing, Bromance, Coming Out, Feels, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:40:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25901461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JakeDov/pseuds/JakeDov
Summary: Leonardo da Vinci gets beaten up by the Pazzi and is heroically saved by his special friend Ezio Auditore, who then goes on to discover the reason the Pazzi beat up Leonardo in the first place......aka Leonardo comes out to Ezio and Ezio has some things to say about that!
Relationships: Ezio Auditore da Firenze/Leonardo da Vinci
Kudos: 33





	Amici

Ezio flew across the rooftops of Firenze as if he was on the heels of the Spaniard himself, barely taking enough time to grab eaves and ledges before he used them to hurtle himself over alleys and across avenues. He had run these tiles so often, however, that he didn’t need to watch his feet to know where they were going. Automatically processing which edges to avoid and where to sidestep holes and jump loose shingles, his brain had ample capacity to reflect on the purpose of his mission.

Even though the Palazzo Auditore wasn’t far from the artist´s shop Ezio had a feeling he was running terribly late. He had known something was wrong as soon as young Salaj had come panting up the stairs to his father´s study. Ezio had taken to the rooftops, sprinting, before the young apprentice had fully caught his breath to tell his story. And he wouldn’t stop until he reached the artist´s house and could see with his own eyes the extent of the calamity. That there was a calamity unfolding, Ezio was in no doubt of. This dark sense of premonition only intensified when Ezio came to a slithering stop on the tiles of the building adjoining Leonardo´s workshop and cautiously peered over the ledge. His blood ran cold when he saw what was transpiring in the courtyard below.

Secluded by high walls and the rear facades of high buildings on all sides the only entrance that opened onto the busy little plaza where merchants continually cried their wares and a long line of travellers waited to be placed on caravans to distant places was currently blocked by a large hay cart. Sporting a broken wheel and a very exasperated driver who was interchangeably blaming the ignorance of passers-by, the inabilities of his donkey or the general peevishness of the universe for this misfortune of his, the wagon quite conveniently made the little flower-packed courtyard inaccessible to anyone who may have heeded the artist´s strife, which made Ezio wonder whether it was parked there by chance or on purpose. Of course, Ezio couldn’t know, but he intended to find out. He quickly assessed the situation and decided it best to act immediately.

The great sculptor, talented artist and scientific genius Leonardo Di Ser Piero Da Vinci himself was currently lying prostrate among the weeds on the ground, curled into a foetal position to provide as little target as possible. Ezio could not see his face but heard him cough and noticed a faint trail of blood mottling the ground around him. Four massive thugs clad in the red-and-white livery of the city guard hovered over him, swinging wooden clubs and dealing blows in quick succession while they taunted their victim. One connected his bat with Leonardo´s jaw, interrupting him in trying to reason with them mid-sentence and sending him moaning. The second aimed for a kick to his balls – Ezio didn’t plan to let the third connect. He clenched his fists, pulled down his hood and crept into position.

He was careful not to alarm the bullies below of his soon to come surprise visit. They wore heavy armour and he wanted to make their demise as swift as possible, preferably without priorly alarming them to his designs on them. Ezio didn’t mind attracting the attention of the general public to his presence three floors above ground – nobody in Florence much cared to look about themselves these days. And even if someone looked skywards unexpectedly and discovered a darkly clad figure on the eaves of the artist´s workshop they wouldn’t care about the fate of each other whatsoever, as long as it didn’t have any bearing on their own fortunes.

Ezio flexed his wrists to test the mechanisms of his hidden blades. With barely more than a whisper they extended, their deadly points glittering sharply in the afternoon sun, ready for work. Satisfied, Ezio took a breath and leapt from the building.

Barely more than a shadow in flight, he took the soldiers completely by surprise. Breaking his fall, he sunk one of his blades into the neck of the first of the men and cushioned his landing on his broad back before he slashed the throat of the second with his other blade, all in one single movement. The third thug had barely yelped in horror than Ezio had silenced him with a knife buried deep inside his chest, arresting the motion of his wildly pumping heart. The guard slumped emotionless to the ground besides his brethren by the time Leonardo noticed that something was happening. The fourth man had dropped his baton in surprise and was just stooping to retrieve it when Ezio bore down on him. All of it was over before it had really begun. Neither of the thugs had had any time to cry for help, and Ezio exhaled contentedly.

He did a quick search of the courtyard to make sure no backup was prowling close by and they were alone, before turning his full attention to his injured friend. It was almost infuriating to think about how quickly he had dealt with the thugs, when they in turn had been able to inflict considerable pain on Leonardo, who looked very much the worse for wear. For doing this to his friend Ezio felt like killing the Pazzi thugs all over again. Usually more than apt to fend for himself, Leonardo was far from being a weakling needing protection; but nobody could expect to be attacked in their own backyard and even then even Ezio would have been hard-pressed to defend himself single-handedly against four brutes coming at him swinging clubs.

“Ezio!” Leonardo cried through broken teeth when the Auditore finally pulled him to his feet, carefully supporting the battered form of a man. “My saviour! Thank God you came! I don’t know what they would have done if you hadn’t. I couldn’t hold them off by myself any longer.”

The artist turned out to be a little bit shaky on his feet, so Ezio hauled him to a bench propped into the shadows of a niche in the corner of the courtyard.

“Here, let me see that,” he said, gently turning the artist´s face into the light.

The comely visage Leonardo was so immensely proud of – which was also the undoing of many a youth´s heart – was already swelling up – his left eye wouldn’t fully open, one cheekbone was clearly broken and beginning to turn purple, the lips were beaten bloody, his nose slightly unhinged.

Ezio fumbled in his medicine pouch and produced a vial of disinfectant together with a shot designed to ease pain.

“Here, drink this,” he said, handing over the potion. Leonardo chugged the contents in one big gulp. This would relieve him from his sufferings at least temporarily. “Hold still,” Ezio commanded further, as he set about cleaning the cuts in Leonardo´s face with the other vial and set right broken bones and strained sinews. Some minutes passed in concentrated silence, Ezio focusing on patching up his friend, Leonardo on not wailing too much.

When he was finished, Leonardo brushed Ezio´s hands away impatiently and tried to get up.

“Let me go! I must... go...” But instead of rising, he soon gave up and slumped in his seat burying his face in his hands. “Who am I fooling, my life is ruined!”

“What do you mean?” Ezio looked at him curiously, feeling the need to console his friend even though he didn’t know what had him in such a despondent state. True, he wouldn’t be able to woo a lot of damsels during the numerous balls and festivities he was undoubtedly invited to in the upcoming weeks, but human bodies were a lot tougher than they looked. Leonardo would heal, eventually. His injuries would fade, and his looks be as pretty as ever. Ezio didn’t understand. Something else must be going on.

“It´s gone. It´s all gone…,” Leonardo mumbled.

“What are you talking about?”

“Everything,” Leonardo puffed. “Everything´s lost. They destroyed my shop. They ruined my work… They wrecked everything I worked on since I apprenticed with Verrocchio. It´s gone. Years and years of work and planning and… all gone…”

“ _Mi dispiace_ , Leonardo.” Ezio was positively shaken by the despair exhibited by his friend. At the same time, he felt an increasing hate towards the Pazzi who were responsible for the city guard´s actions. He awkwardly patted Leonardo´s back. “If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.”

But Leonardo didn’t seem to hear him. He shook his head, deep in thought. “I´ll have to leave the city. At least until this blows over. Maybe forever…”

“Nonsense. What is this talk?” Ezio said, trying to brush Leonardo´s concerns aside. “These men cannot bother you any more.”

Leonardo sighed heavily, holding his side as he changed position on the bench. “These won´t.” He gestured towards the four corpses clad in Florentine livery which Ezio would have to disappear now, before someone blamed his friend for them. Maybe the hay wagon blocking the archway wasn’t such an inconvenience after all. “But more will come.”

“Why do you figure?” Ezio looked at his friend quizzically. He knew that Francesco de´Pazzi occasionally exploited his position as the person in charge of the city guard to collect personal debts or deal out warnings, but he refused to accept that the whole force was as corrupt as their commander. “What quarrel do you have with the Pazzi?”

Leonardo shrugged, which seemed to cause him considerable pain. “None in particular. At least not until today. But I messed up, Ezio. I messed up bad…”

“Tell me how to fix this, and I will take care of the Pazzi for you.”

Leonardo chuckled dryly in something that was half amusement at Ezio´s optimism and half despair at his own pessimism. “This is not something that can be taken care of by you, Ezio. You do not understand.”

“Then explain it to me, Leonardo. You know I am your friend. And I am not of a mind with the Pazzi. If they wronged you, I want to help make things right.”

But Leonardo only continued to shake his head. “You cannot help me with this, Ezio. Nobody can. Because, you see, for once the Pazzi are in the right.”

Now it was Ezio´s turn to chuckle dismissively. “I do not believe that for even a second.”

“You better had. Because we broke the law, Ezio. And in the worst possible way. There is nothing I can say to excuse my behaviour.”

“We?”

Leonardo turned away, looking down. “Salaj. He was… _with_ me.”

When Ezio failed to grasp his meaning, Leonardo expounded. “The guards have made a habit to come and inspect my workshop more and more often, recently. They must have known… Usually, I am prepared. But today, they took us by surprise. They happened upon us at a very, very wrong time.”

Having heard the rumours circulating about the young artist and his escapades, understanding dawned on Ezio. “Oh,” he said. “No…”

“Yes,” Leonardo echoed. “You see now why my life is ruined? I will be a dead man when they prosecute me.”

“Then we mustn’t let them find you. I have friends, Leonardo, my family is influential in Firenze. We can help you.”

“No, Ezio. It wouldn’t feel right. I don’t want to take advantage of your position. I don’t want anyone else entangled in my messes. Also, I cannot leave Salaj to their mercy. They must have imprisoned him by now. I cannot let him hang alone.”

Ezio almost laughed out loud, but then contented himself with breathing a sigh of relief, happy that he could finally contribute something that would alleviate Leonardo´s strain. “You do not need to worry about Salaj, Leonardo. He is fine, trust me,” he said and began to explain with renewed vigour. “He is with my family. Salaj came to our house. He was the one who told us about your predicament.” Ezio indicated the corpses.

“So, he escaped? They did not arrest him?” Leonardo said in such a hopeful way that it touched Ezio deep inside.

“No, they didn’t. He must have outrun them. I left immediately to check on you, but my father would never throw him out knowing the Pazzi are looking for him. We are not friends with the Pazzi, you know. I will bring you to him, and my father will help you and Salaj disappear together.”

Just as Ezio expected, Leonardo appeared much relieved and finally perked up a little. But he continued to decline the offer to be taken to be reunited with his apprentice most forcefully.

“Why not?” Ezio enquired. “The two of you can start over in Milano or Venezia or even Roma. Nobody will know of the incident there. Nobody will care.”

“No, Ezio. I cannot.” Leonardo shook his head, defeat creeping into his voice, degrading it to a mere whisper. “Salaj will not want that. You see, I think he might be the one who tipped them off. He may be in league with the Pazzi.”

“Why?” Ezio asked, appalled.

“I don’t know. They might have promised him more than I could.”

Ezio frowned. “But… Why would he betray you and then come running to us? That doesn’t make any sense, Leonardo.”

“Maybe he was double-crossed. Maybe he got second thoughts.” Leonardo attempted another shrug but winced at the motion instead. “Maybe he just wanted to teach me a lesson, not thinking about the consequences. He can be a rascal, if he wants to. I don’t know, Ezio. But it must have been him. Nobody else could have known that…. that...”

“That you are in love with your apprentice?”

Suddenly looking hurt, Leonardo retorted with a pained expression: “I understand if it is a notion that escapes your understanding. But please, Ezio, I ask of you, do not mock me. It is more than I could bear now.”

“Leonardo, look at me.” Ezio had to repeat his request thrice before Leonardo met his eyes. His were sorrowful and wide and Ezio detected a vulnerability in them he had never seen there before.

“You know what I am?” Ezio asked. It was more of a statement than a question but Leonardo answered just the same.

“ _Assassino_ ,” he said in a whisper. His eyes went even wider when he nodded. He clearly had heard some rumours too.

“Si. I am an assassin.” Ezio nodded slowly. “Do you also know of the Assassin´s Creed?”

A silent shake of Leonardo´s head was all Ezio had expected. The assassins were a rather secretive group that didn’t much like to share its mysteries. He continued.

“All assassins live by this creed: _Nulla é reale – tutto é lecito_. Nothing is true – everything is permitted. You understand?”

When Leonardo continued to look more spooked than comprehending, Ezio took his bruised hand in his and pressed it amicably.

“Leonardo, I am telling you: _Nothing is true. Everything is permitted_. We all try to live our lives that way. As long as you are free, do what makes you happy. That is _my_ creed.”

“So, it doesn’t bother you, knowing all of this about me?”

“Why do you think it would bother me, Leonardo? The Assassins taught me how wrong it is to categorize. I will not start again now. I am not judging you. To me, you are a courageous man. I could never judge you.”

Finally convinced of Ezio´s seriousness, Ezio was relieved to see Leonardo ease up a bit and relax enough to return the pressure of Ezio´s hand and lean into him for support. He let Ezio help him up and together they made their way slowly to the doors of the workshop to salvage what they could from the wreckage.

“ _Mille grazie_ , Ezio. You cannot know how much this means to me.”

Ezio was just about to crack a stupid joke about the general impossibilities of life, when, before he knew it, Leonardo had closed the distance between them and they were, quite suddenly, _kissing_. He felt Leonardo´s lips brush against his own. Despite the beating they had taken they were soft and warm. Tender, even. Stunned by the complexity of emotions that all at once assaulted Ezio, the kiss soon deepened and Ezio let Leonardo push him up against a wall and cup his face in big yet gentle hands. With a constricted chest he gasped for air and savoured the faintest trace of blood in his mouth as Leonardo´s tongue played with his own. Leonardo pressed himself against him, and Ezio felt like he was sinking into a big, white cotton cushion. One thing was for sure: Leonardo was a very, very good kisser. Maybe the best Ezio had ever kissed. Despite that, however, Ezio felt the need to wake up from a very confusing, wildly bewildering dream when Leonardo´s hands began to wander.

“ _Aspetta_ , Leonardo, _aspetta_!” Ezio broke the kiss gently but firmly. He stumbled back, looking at Leonardo wide-eyed and quite out of breath. This had come utterly unexpected. “What are you doing?”

Leonardo held his eyes, a darkness spreading over his features. The artist apologized. Copiously. “I am sorry, Ezio. Please think no less of me now. I am clearly not in my right mind. You must excuse me. I just…”

Ezio couldn’t bear the immense sadness that suddenly engulfed his friend. He re-approached Leonardo, reaching out to him in support.

“Leonardo, listen. I am not cross. I can only imagine how hard it is for you. And I am certain that there is a perfect match for you out there somewhere. I know you will find him, one day.”

“But this someone isn’t you.”

“It isn’t me,” Ezio agreed. “It cannot be me. I cannot give you what you seek. Not in this way, no. But, Leonardo, I am and will be your devoted friend for life. That, I promise. If you let me. Because in this crazy life all of us need friends to be able to cope, don’t we?”

Leonardo took a step back and nodded, only once. A sad little smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. But his eyes were as lively as ever when he reached out and Ezio readily returned his embrace and felt Leonardo relax against him.

“We do, _amico mio_. Indeed we do.”


End file.
